Loynton Moss is a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

of the

Staffordshire Wildlife Trust The Staffordshire Wildlife Trust is a wildlife trust covering the county of Staffordshire, England. Organisation and activities It is one of 46 Wildlife Trusts; each is a registered charity and is a member of the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts. ...

, near the village of Woodseaves, in Staffordshire,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It is adjacent to the Shropshire Union Canal, as it runs from nearby

Norbury Norbury is an area of south London. It shares the postcode London SW16 with neighbouring Streatham. Norbury is south of Charing Cross. Etymology The name Norbury derives from ''North Burh'', (North Borough). Some local histories note that ...

to High Offley.

Description

The area of the reserve is , and it is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest. There are walking trails, except in the mostly inaccessible areas of

reedbed A reedbed or reed bed is a natural habitat found in floodplains, waterlogged depressions and estuaries. Reedbeds are part of a succession from young reeds colonising open water or wet ground through a gradation of increasingly dry ground. As ...

and

wet woodland A wet woodland is a type of plant community. It is a biodiversity habitat in the United Kingdom as part of the British National Vegetation Classification system. Wet woodlands occurs on poorly drained or seasonally wet soils. They may occur in riv ...

. There are

mosquito Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...

es in the wetter areas during the summer, which may deter visitors."Loynton Moss"
''Staffordshire Wildlife Trust''. Retrieved 28 February 2021.

Geology

The particular landscape is a result of a process after the last ice age. A

kettle hole A kettle (also known as a kettle lake, kettle hole, or pothole) is a depression/hole in an outwash plain formed by retreating glaciers or draining floodwaters. The kettles are formed as a result of blocks of dead ice left behind by retreating gla ...

was formed by

dead ice Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

left by retreating glaciers, which became a lake when the ice finally melted. The former lake is now an area of peaty, boggy land, known as a Moss.

Environments

There are dry wooded areas, where bluebells can be seen in the spring. Grassland, acquired by the Trust in 2000, is a large part of the reserve. It is former wetland, drained for agriculture in 1970. There are areas of reedbed, and wet woodland including an

alder carr An alder carr is a particular type of carr, i.e. waterlogged wooded terrain populated with alder trees. Examples * Alder Carr, Hildersham * Alderfen Broad * Fawley Ford on the Beaulieu River * Biebrza National Park * Fen Alder Carr * Harsto ...

. Uncommon plants found here include marsh cinquefoil and cowbane. Moths, butterflies and many species of rare insects can be found in the wetland. Birds such as

willow warbler The willow warbler (''Phylloscopus trochilus'') is a very common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe and the Palearctic, from Ireland east to the Anadyr River basin in eastern Siberia. It is strong ...

and

reed bunting The common reed bunting (''Emberiza schoeniclus'') is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae. The genus name ''Emberiza'' is from Old German ''Embritz'', a ...

are attracted by the particular insects in this habitat.

Birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains ...

trees consume much water during the summer and can affect ground water levels of the wetland, so some have been felled in places. Ditches and land drains are monitored.

References

{{Reflist Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Staffordshire Borough of Stafford Nature reserves in Staffordshire Forests and woodlands of Staffordshire Wetlands of England Grasslands of the United Kingdom Alder carrs